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Who’s the freeloader?

The two aircraft below may look the same, but don’t let appearances deceive you. Contrary to what you see, they are in fact identical.

Some sources say the Air Force wants 100 of the B-21s.

I mention this because every day we see comments by people who accuse other people of being freeloaders.

Meanwhile these same accusers bless and praise the extreme freeloaders, such as weapons makers, or the Big Banks.

The B-21 bomber is an example of extreme freeloading. Its initially projected cost is $6.4 billion each. Each bomber weighs 158,000 pounds unloaded. If the plane was made out of solid 24-karat gold, it would be worth $3.1 billion (based on a trading price of $1,224.50 per ounce on 26 Feb 2016). Therefore the bomber will cost more than twice its weight in solid gold. Every bit of plastic or rubber or glass in it will cost double what it would cost if it was made of solid gold. And that’s only the initial projected cost before the inevitable cost overruns. The U.S. Air Force wants eighty of them to fight against…who? “ISIS™”?

Of course, the U.S. government will have no problem paying for this, since the money will be created out of thin air, and will be given to Northrup Grumman and its subcontractors.

The point is that everyone screams about “entitlements,” but few people complain about these ultimate freeloaders. Such mass hatred, selfishness, and stupidity are precisely why we have poverty and suffering.

Incidentally the big weapons makers no longer make weapons. Instead, they keep their toys “in development” as long as possible so they can milk the U.S. government for as long as possible. The F-35 fighter has been “in development” for eight years. Northrop’s contract for the B-21 stipulates that the government, rather than Northrop, is liable for the inevitable cost overruns. Therefore Northrup will make sure there are cost overruns.

The weapons makers intentionally cause problems and delays, just to keep the river of federal dollars flowing to them. Politicians like this process, since many of those dollars come to their pockets in the form of bribes and kickbacks. (Whoops — did I say bribes? I meant “free speech” according to the Citizens United decision.)

And when a system finally does get built, it is junk. The B-2 was developed thirty years ago, but on any given day, only nine are actually ready for combat.

By the way, “stealth aircraft” are not “invisible.” They can only evade long wave, long range radar, not short-range, short-wave radar.

“This aircraft represents the future,” Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said at an Air Force symposium in Orlando on Feb. 26.

Okay, so that’s federal spending. It puts dollars into the economy. What’s the problem? The problem is that average people are always ready to point their finger at other average people who get any form of government help.

Meanwhile the ultimate parasites and scammers (e.g. banks and weapons makers) are praised. What a sick society we have.